Depth of Commitment

In our flip-flop world, the louder you profess your love and desire to your clients, your art, your creative business, the less I believe you.  Unless.

Unless you are willing to walk the walk, know your core, live by your process, honor your boundaries, and stand behind (i.e., be willing to be judged for) your art on your terms, you are a sound-byte.  You will have my attention for a minute and be gone the next.

Depth of commitment is a reflection of integrity, not effort, service to your art and business first, client second.  Yes, your art and creative business first, clients second.

You are the expert.  You do what you do.  You dream about your art, think about how to do it better.  If your clients dreamed like you, they would not need you.  What you provide clients is your wisdom, art and artistry.  If the energy you put out there is that you will do whatever it takes at any cost, how exactly does that honor your wisdom, your power?

I have seen far too much in the name of service, desire to please, hunger for positive reflection (getting hired, being chosen) as much as or more than money.  It looks great to the outside world.  “Man, there is nothing she would not do.  Had her baby and was back at it a week later.  Love her.”  She could be any kind of artist – designer, photographer, architect, does not matter.  Question is: how much does she love herself, her art and her creative business?  Maybe she does and it is from a place of power that she shows up, or maybe it is fear, the need to serve her ego more than her soul.  Who knows? Guessing she does not either and that is the point.  Depth of commitment means knowing why you choose what you do, what you are willing to do and not.

The beauty of creative business is that anything works so long as it will provide your client with your best.  Want to design a project in ten days instead of the ninety that other designers require?  Sure, just get paid for it.  Feel like being completely transparent, down to the invoices for your flowers?  Why not.  Just get paid your profit somewhere else than flowers.  Want to get one hundred percent of an interior design budget up front so you can spend quickly and effectively?  Sure, if you can defend the benefit to both you and your client, go for it.  If you have the courage to say with impunity how you do things will lead you to your best as you know it to be today, then you will be rewarded.  Much easier said than done.

You will meet resistance, naysayers, even downright haters.  What you do with it is the stuff of commitment and conviction.  Your way is not the absolute best way, just the best way for you, your art and your creative business.  If that way does not jibe with clients, employees, vendors or colleagues alike, will you compromise?  Why?  Slippery slope from there to “we do whatever it takes”.  Without the caveat,  “we do whatever it takes, provided you play by our rules and only our rules” you are begging to be ignored.  All that matters to you, your art and creative business will be up to someone else, not you.

No artist ever deserves to be ignored, to be forced into compromise, to have to create something they are not proud of.  If you do or are, you have done it to yourself.  The good news is that you can undo it, if only you are willing to challenge the depth of your commitment to yourself, your art and creative business — and go further.